What would hipsters save if their house was on fire?

Updated 1533 GMT (2333 HKT) March 19, 2014

What would a hipster save if their house were on fire?10 photos

What would a hipster save if their house were on fire? – Picture this nightmare scenario: Your house is on fire. You gather your loved ones and escape to safety. But you've also got time to grab a few items to save as well. What do you take? Do you make a practical decision of important documents or passports? Or a sentimental one like a photograph taken in happier moments? While it may seem a simple question, our choices reveal a lot about our personalities from the materialistic objects we grab in the heat of the moment.

That was the concept behind the popular "Burning House" project, created by writer and photographer Foster Huntington back in 2010 -- Huntington asked a few friends what would they save and then posted their answers on his photography blog. Soon he was stunned to see strangers sending submissions for him to include and the "Burning House" concept took off.

Inspired by Huntington's project, South African illustrator Wessel Matthews has now based a collection of illustrations on the subject of saving items from a burning abode. But his work has a twist -- all the characters facing the blazing predicament are hipsters.

By Lauren Said-Moorhouse, for CNN

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What would a hipster save if their house were on fire?10 photos

What would a hipster save if their house were on fire? – Hipsters can usually be easily identified by their eccentric hair cuts and thick-rimmed eyewear. They are often also sucked into the skinniest of skinny jeans with a quirky but predictably vintage cardigan while trying to radiate an "effortlessly cool" demeanor. And they are everywhere . A common sight on the streets of Brooklyn in New York and Shoreditch in London -- but also in Cape Town's Woodstock and Johannesburg's Manoneng areas.

The subculture has spread across the world. It has become increasingly popular in South Africa where young people in their 20s and 30s, usually working in a creative profession, have adopted the style to identify themselves, which was the reason behind Matthews' choice to turn his characters into hipsters.

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What would a hipster save if their house were on fire?10 photos

What would a hipster save if their house were on fire? – The young illustrator says that hipsters are representative of the younger generations in South Africa who are struggling to find an identity for themselves following years of apartheid in the country.

"You are in the awkward position where you didn't actually contribute to all the horrors that happened here but at the same time you are closely related to the people who did," he explains. "Hipsterdom provides a safe identity ... It's a meeting point for us and the other main cultures we have here."

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What would a hipster save if their house were on fire?10 photos

What would a hipster save if their house were on fire? – Matthews wanted to illustrate the soaring popularity of the hipster culture and has used his own friends to immortalize in a series of postcard illustrations. He reached out to them over Facebook asking for photographs and the items they would save.

He says: "These are all actual people. Some of them I wouldn't directly label them as hipsters but if you heighten certain aspects and tone down some others it's very easy to label them as hipsters as well."

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What would a hipster save if their house were on fire?10 photos

What would a hipster save if their house were on fire? – Frances is one of the hipster personalities represented in Matthews' collection. "[She] is one of my best friends. She flew a month ago to South Korea to teach there for a year. And she's all about different and varied experiences and seeing the new which ties back to the hipster theme very well," he says.

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What would a hipster save if their house were on fire?10 photos

What would a hipster save if their house were on fire? – Explaining the items her character would take, he says: "She's got all these personal artifacts about her life and things she gathers from people that mean a lot to her. For her, it's about the personal connection without so much the physical function."

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What would a hipster save if their house were on fire?10 photos

What would a hipster save if their house were on fire? – Of "Nicole," Matthews describes her as a completely different type of hipster because she is "an intellectual literary genius."

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What would a hipster save if their house were on fire?10 photos

What would a hipster save if their house were on fire? – While Matthews was worried about the reaction of being turned into a hipster from the real-life Nicole, he found she actually loved it. He thinks this is because hipsters are more liberal-minded and enlightened. "That's something people really like to be -- is progressive."

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What would a hipster save if their house were on fire?10 photos

What would a hipster save if their house were on fire? – According to the illustrator, the culture of hipsters is attractive to young South Africans because it is so diverse. He says there are many different types of hipster people can identify with -- and which he tries to convey in his illustrations -- which is what makes it appealing to so many.

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What would a hipster save if their house were on fire?10 photos

What would a hipster save if their house were on fire? – While Matthews is willing to admit that the culture can be seen as bizarre, he says he hopes people will accept hipsters in South Africa for who they are. "Appreciate that if it is different or it is weird or odd, that it isn't necessarily malevolent ... It's OK to be proud of who and what you are and still maintain your own identity whilst allowing someone else theirs," he says.

So what would you take? And what do you think your items reveal about your personality? We want to hear from YOU! Share your list with us via @AfricaVoicesCNN on Twitter.